Australia's Iranian Ambassador expelled over antisemitism allegations
Australia has responded to antisemitic attacks allegedly orchestrated by Iran and commits to condemn the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Iranian Ambassador to Australia was expelled from the country on Tuesday after the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) assessed that Iran directed antisemitic attacks.
Since the beginning of the Hamas-Israel war, ASIO has concluded that Iran has directed at least two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil.
In October last year there was an arson attack on a café in Sydney and in December there was another on a synagogue in Melbourne.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a joint statement with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke that the Australian people “don’t want the conflict in the Middle East brought here”.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. This is an attack on our society, aimed at creating fear, stoking internal divisions and eroding social cohesion,” she says.
Melissa Anderson is a student at the University of Tasmania and a member of the Tasmanian Jewish Community. Though the expulsion of the Iranian Ambassador was “quite a shock”, she believes it was justified.
“This attack is not just anti-Semitic, but has become a matter of national security,” she says.
Operations at the Australian embassy in Tehran have been suspended with all the staff now in a third country.
The Albanese government has also committed to pass legislation that will label Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
This action has been praised by the Australian Iranian Community Alliance (AICA) that believes Iran has “operated adversarial networks within Australia to undermine social cohesion, instil fear and conduct attacks.”
“We urge the Parliament of Australia … to fast-track the legislation listing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation,” it says.
Tehran has threatened retaliatory action for the expulsion of its top official, however it is unclear so far what backlash Australia could face.
